


Looking for Love

by MiddleofNowhere92



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Love at First Sight, Valentine's Day, countryside AU?, i have no idea how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiddleofNowhere92/pseuds/MiddleofNowhere92
Summary: Every year on the fourteenth of February, we celebrate the spring that is coming and the feast day for Yue, the moon goddess of women and love. On this day, unmarried young women hope that Yue will bring them luck. So we rise before the sun and we look for the man of our dreams. The first man you see today will be the man you will marry.***Ty Lee looks for love.
Relationships: Jet & Ty Lee (Avatar), Jet/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Looking for Love

Ty Lee’s mother kissed her good night. The girl looked up hopefully, “I can look for my love tomorrow, mama?”

“Yes,” the woman smiled, “Tomorrow you can look for your love.” She kissed her daughter’s head and tucked her in for the night. 

It was still dark outside when Ty Lee was shaken awake. She groggily opened her eyes to see her sisters peering at her. Ty Lat pinched her cheek, “Come on sleepy head! It’s the day you have been asking about since you were born.”

Ty Lee brightened at that, springing from the warmth of her bed and dressing in her winter clothes, even though she had slowly begun to see signs of spring, she put on her sweater, trousers and overcoat. 

Their mother handed Ty Lao a basket, full with a thermos and food to hold them through the day. Then the six sisters set out. They crossed their farmland to the hill closest to the road that ran along the forest. This was the best place to look for their loves. They were at the exact spot where her oldest sister Ty Lin had first seen her love.

The girls settled in on the hill, each of them facing off into a different direction, passing snacks and drinks from the basket. Her sisters were chattering and bickering as always, but Ty Lee folded her legs underneath herself and took in the barely rising sun, the mist that still covered the grass and the early morning breeze that blew through the trees.

Ty Woo’s voice emerged above the chatter, “Someone tell the tale of today!” “Yes, someone tell it,” echoed Ty Lum. “Go on, tell it, Latty. You’re the oldest one, now that Linny’s gone off and gotten married,” Ty Liu encouraged. 

Ty Lat glanced around at the ten grey eyes that were on her. She sheepishly cleared her throat, “Well, alright, well you all are supposed to be looking out for your love, not looking at me.” The younger girls each turned in their designated direction. Ty Lee folded her legs, ready to hear the story. Satisfied, Ty Lat began, “So every year on the fourteenth of February, we celebrate the spring that is coming and the feast day for Yue, the moon goddess of women and love. On this day, unmarried young women hope that Yue will bring them luck. So we rise before the sun and we look for the man of our dreams. The first man you see today will be the man you will marry.”

The girls sat quietly, each of them focused on finding their future partner. Ty Lee hoped her’s wouldn’t be the cabbage man that took this road every morning. She drummed her fingers impatiently against her leg. She wished her love would get here a bit faster. The chatter of her sisters slowly began to increase in volume, as they became more and more distracted from their purpose.

Ty Lee dragged her fingers through the soft dewy grass. A leaf blew by and went into the forest. It drifted up and away. Ty Lee watched the leaf get carried away in the wind. Suddenly, she had an idea. If she went way up in the trees, she would surely see her love easier from up there. 

She bounced up from her seat on the hill and ran down to the tree line. She could hear her sisters shouting for her, but the trees were calling to her. She grabbed a branch and swung herself up and began to climb. She felt steady as she scrambled between branches. When she got halfway up, she looked out and picked the branch as a prime viewing spot. She could easily see anyone coming on the road below. 

She plunked into a sitting position on a branch, swinging her legs back and forth, as she watched the horizon for the man she would marry. Who knew that finding her love would be such a tedious job?

Her mind and eyes got distracted from the road below. She glanced up at the trees. A sparrow was singing not too far away. Ty Lee puckered her lips and mimicked the cooing noise. The bird flew away, but Ty Lee still heard the sparrow’s song. She leaned against the branch, craning her neck to see where the sparrow had gotten to, but she didn’t find the sparrow. Instead, she found a boy. 

He was standing on a thin branch, but he didn’t seem too concerned for his safety. He couldn’t have been much older than her. His shaggy hair, brown skin and warm brown eyes had so much warmth, in contrast to the wintery forest around them. She was so startled to see him there, that it took a moment for her to register that he was indeed the first boy she had seen today. This was her love. 

Ty Lee gave him a friendly smile, but he instantly darted further into the trees. She had been waiting for this day her whole life. She couldn’t lose him now! She sprung up and began following him, each of her feet finding sure footing as she scampered through the treetops. He was fast, but so was she. She kept searching for his orange sweater in the trees, but it got harder and harder to see, until finally she couldn’t see it at all. 

She slumped onto a branch. How could she have lost him so soon? She wrapped her arms around her legs to block out the chill. She chewed her lip in thought. She had never seen that boy in town before, or anywhere else for that fact. 

Could he live here? In the trees? She glanced around, but all she could see was the small sparrow and the setting sun. Had she really spent all day up in the treetops chasing that boy? She gave one last look around the branches, but found that she was alone. 

Ty Lee began to descend. Her feet easily finding footholds to climb down. With a soft thump, she landed on the forest floor. She dragged herself out of the forest, past the now abandoned hill and into her family home. 

She joined the rest of her family at the dinner table. Her sisters didn’t stop their chattering to acknowledge her, but her mother brushed her braid to the side and set her plate in front of her. She asked warmly, “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Ty Lee looked up, “I saw a boy mama. I did, but he ran away.” Ty Woo snorted, “Sounds like he really wants to be with you.” Ty Lee stuck her tongue out, but started eating when her mother gave her a look. 

As she climbed into bed that night, the only comfort was that she might see him again someday. She closed her eyes and dreamt of a dazzling brown eyed boy that was supposed to be her love. 

**Author's Note:**

> So I had no idea how to tag this. But it's based on Italian folklore and tradition related to Juno, the roman goddess of love and marriage.
> 
> So this fic came out of the ATLA rarepair one shot requests I take on tumblr. This month's prompt was valentine's day. If you haven't gotten enough of my idiocy come be my fren on [tumblr](https://middleofnowhere92.tumblr.com)


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